Golden Fleece Circuit

And finally, an event that I have turned up for and successfully trotted around in 2016.  Who would have thought?

For anyone reading this who is unaware, the Golden Fleece Circuit is a mixed terrain event in South Yorkshire.  There are 15 and 27 mile options and it is organised by the local Scouts group.  If you've ever been to one of these, or an LDWA event, you'll know the deal on the low key nature of the day.  You'll also have a feel for how important your ability to navigate a route is if you want to have a good day out there.  Generally you'll be provided with a couple of sides of A4 route directions, a basic map, and an expectation that you can look after yourself as an adult and not be a burden on the organisers (or mountain rescue, depending on the event).

As the name suggests, the Golden Fleece Circuit is a looped course which keeps the logistics pretty simple.  The small hall that doubles as registration area pre-race, and soup kitchen post-race has enough capacity to store kit bags while you explore the nearby wilds.

For my part, the day went well.  From some basic research I knew that the route would be a mixture of paths and tarmac.  I was also aware that I wouldn't be standing on top of a moor trying to take a bearing with my rusty navigation skills.  A good prospect for the first event in a long while.  Still being in recovery from injury, and not wanting to explain a worsened wound to the nurse on the following Tuesday, my execution plan for this was to take it easy throughout.  I'd say I was about 80% successful.  I'd like to explain more about the route, but like just about every event I've taken part in, most of it was a blur.  I can be sure when I say that this is a very runnable route.  I think there was one hill that would force you to a walk even if you were looking to race this hard.  Of course, that hill was in the last couple of miles because, Race Organisers.  The route was relatively easy to follow for one of these types of events.  If you're expecting ribbons on every corner, this is not the run for you.  I did manage to step off the route for a while due to thoughtlessly following the couple of groups ahead of me, but that is most definitely my fault rather than anything else.

The weather was also a little interesting with all four seasons making an appearance.  The drive up from Northampton had been shrouded in drizzle and flurries of snow.  This is not a great sign when driving north for an outdoor event but for the majority of my run, the sky stayed on my side.  The wide expanse allowed plenty of opportunity to watch the clouds as they rolled in, not that there was much to be done about it when it did arrive.  10 minutes of chilly rain 90 minutes into the race, sun so warm that I would have been happier in shorts and t-shirt during the next hour, and then a little later, driving hail as I travelled along a ridge line.  It did finally throw it down with rain in the minutes after I finished.  You couldn't help but feel for those still out on the course.

It is a couple of days later now and no particular ill effects seem to have occurred.  My calves would feel happier if I'd put in some proper training in the weeks beforehand.  I did pick up a head cold which is yet to clear but nothing that is preventing ongoing training, so it would seem that the Edale Skyline on Sunday is still on the cards.  At least that is only 21 miles.  This was certainly my thinking until I started to read the blogs of people who ran the race in 2015.  The thought of running in thigh deep mud was not something that gets my juices flowing at this moment in time.

For reference, I've noticed that some of the events I attend do not have good route files available so I'll be uploading mine.  The FIT file is direct from the Fenix 3.  The gpx file is the converted version through Garmin connect.  For this event, it is definitely worth bearing in mind that I took a bit of a detour 20km in.

Route files

And recovered! Hot Diggity

Well, mainly.

It has now been more than four weeks since the surgery and there is still the dressing on my shoulder, but things are feeling pretty normal.  A very helpful and professional nurse now replaces the dressing a couple of times per week, but in myself, I feel pretty good.  And this isn't one of those "pretty good all things considered", but simply a "pretty good".

The turn around appears to have been at the weekend.  I had planned a trail marathon in Leicestershire but going into Friday a couple of my more sensible friend convinced me that this was not the way.  And like that, the Belvoir Challenge slips by for the year (DNS 3).  This wasn't the same wrench as the previous DNSs, not being part of a race series and having only been scheduled by me as a training run.  However, going through the weekend I became aware of everything feeling pretty much normal.  I turned up to parkrun and pottered around that at a moderate pace which quickly reminded me that I have not put in any speedwork for a couple of months, and this was followed up by a very easy trail run on the Sunday.

So, as I step into March, it feels like time to get back to it.  In fact, I've decided to use February's leap day as a way of jump starting my faded resolutions.  It could be that committing to 50 miles per week is a little on the stupid side when coming back from illness, but I've enough patience to keep most of that mileage at a very low effort.  I also have another scheduled race in 17 days and I don't think that toeing the line for a 42 mile race in the Brecon Beacons is a sensible idea unless I've put myself to the test a little beforehand.  I've no wish to be a liability for the other racers and the organiser.

This means I'll be at the Golden Fleece this coming weekend, and the Edale Skyline on the following.  They're both interesting to bite off in some ways, but both big enough for me to start off very easily, build up to a very easy pace and then near the finish, drop to my very easy effort, without lagging behind the field and requiring panicked acceleration into checkpoints to beat the cut offs.  I know little about the course for the Golden Fleece so I'm looking forward to exploring it, and I know more about the Edale area and I am looking forward to those views even more.  And I know they're likely to be replaced by driving rain and clag, but what can you do?

2016 apparently starts in March.